Maybe it's the "she pursued him" angle and so "got what she deserved". I taught in a secondary school for a few years. I saw young lads flirt with female staff and experienced young women flirt with male staff. We'd joke about it in the staff room BUT it was accepted that this was normal adolescent behaviour and it would be a total no-no to take it further. Those teachers who step over the line are rare. They are also pariahs within the profession. Equally I'm sure that pro footballers will be pursued by young women. I can't believe that in this day and age players are not aware that it needs to be a "look, laugh but don't touch" policy.
On a slightly different tangent, many years ago I worked for a Training Company, under the control of Southampton City Council.
Our client group were aged 16 - 23, but many were, for a multitude of reasons, considered to be "vulnerable young adults", and often had to be given similar consideration, as a minor, because of their vulnerable status.
It transpired that one of our female trainers, was putting herself in a position that left her open to criticism, and she was eventually challenged by other clients in her training group.
When she was taking them out on field trips, which weren't much more than a walk around town on most occasions, she would regularly walk hand in hand with the same young man.
Some of her other clients identified this as improper, and one reported it to her parents, who brought it to the attention of the company.
Staff discovered, simply by talking to the other clients, that the woman and the male client were exchanging private emails and that he would sometimes kiss her (on the cheek) goodbye.
Because the woman was "a popular and respected" member of staff, with the management, and she was achieving her targets, the company held a meeting, and effectively swept this under the carpet.
All other staff were furious, because we all felt she had abused her position, could potentially have been grooming him and had it become public knowledge, we all could have been tarred with the same brush.
Male staff were doubly furious, because we all believed that had the trainer been male, and the client been female, he would have been suspended, and most probably sacked.
The last I heard the woman was still working with young adults, participating in running a youth club, and aiming to become a social worker.
As I say, this didn't happen with a minor, but the vulnerable status of the young adult (possibly 16/17) and her position of trust made this a very unsavoury occurrence.
